WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff pledged yesterday to permanently station an official from his office at NYPD Headquarters to prevent the kind of embarrassing feud that erupted during this month’s subway bombing threat.

Chertoff made the pledge for closer coordination in a breakfast meeting with Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, who has been playing peacemaker between the feds and furious New York cops since contradictory statements were issued during the high-profile bombing threat earlier this month.

“We agreed that Homeland Security and the NYPD have to be on the same page and that better coordination between the two agencies is essential,” King told The Post.

King said Chertoff agreed to station a DHS liaison officer at the NYPD’s Intelligence Division “on a permanent basis,” to better coordinate messages and responses in times of crisis.

“This is a welcome development,” said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne, who noted the Toronto Police Department and the Jordanian National Police also have permanent liaison officers with the NYPD.

King also quoted Chertoff as saying he was “furious” and “outraged” that two officials from his department via e-mail warned a select group of family and friends in Manhattan not to ride the subways days before Mayor Bloomberg and New York cops alerted the public about a possible plot.

Chertoff said an internal probe of the e-mails – containing secret government information about the threat – is continuing and vowed he will take “very severe action” against the leakers.

Two DHS employees – an unidentified Coast Guard civilian intelligence officer and William Ross, the deputy head of federal security at Philadelphia International Airport – have already had their security clearance stripped pending the outcome of the e-mail probe.

A department spokesman said the investigation has expanded to determine whether more DHS employees are leaking details of terror plots to family and friends.

“He is taking it very seriously. There was no attempt on his part to minimize, downplay or explain away this thing,” King said of Chertoff.